France has always been a haven for envelope-pushing black metal acts. From the primitive, lo-fi wrath of Les Légions Noires, to Neige's ten thousand side projects, French black metal is a genre that plays by its own rules, often earning the approval of critics despite a determinedly 'untrve' sound. Take, for instance, Anorexia Nervosa - a symphonic act that nevertheless has the respect of the same people who scorned Dimmu Borgir. Alcest's haunting melodies and heartfelt shoegaze should have earned nothing but derision from purists, and while some turned their backs Alcest remains one of the most beloved bands to come out of the old hexagon this side of Gojira.
The Great Old Ones' ingenuity, thus, is nothing shocking. The Lovecraft-inspired quintet from Bordeaux, who are currently signed to the excellent Les Acteurs de l'Ombre, don't have much in the way of history. In 2012 the band released Al-Azif, their debut album, which drew influence equally from the evilness of Inquisition and the not-so-evilness of blackgaze acts like An Autumn for Crippled Children. It was, and remains, a profoundly unique record - hard to compare and harder to grasp, despite the familiarity of the subject matter.
But it's now 2014 and the band's newest record Tekeli-li is just now seeing the light of day after months of anticipation. Tekeli-li answers the question I was worrying about when it came to The Great Old Ones - would they fall for the sophomore slump after putting out one of the most intriguing black metal records of 2012?
The answer is, unquestionably, 'no'. Tekeli-li is at once a continuation of The Great Old Ones' style and a further exploration of the limits of post-black interspersed with psychedelic phantasmagoria in the style of A Forest of Stars or Nachtmystium. The story is a retelling of one of Lovecraft's most well-known novellas At the Mountains of Madness, which concerns itself with an expedition in Antarctica coming across the tomb of an ancient, unspeakable evil. To the Great Old Ones' credit, they manage to lyrically capture the essence of Lovecraft's writings, with the nefarious opener 'Je ne suis pas fou' featuring vocalist Jeff Grimal introducing the story of Tekeli-li and constantly reaffirming that he's not insane. The delivery of these lines, and, indeed, of the whole album's lyrics, is absolutely superb. Even though the vocals lapse into metallic savagery as soon as the second song 'Antarctica' kicks in, their eloquence perfectly captures what makes Lovecraft's writing so memorable - the band mimic ol' H.P's voice incredibly well, and for a retelling of one of his novels this is invaluable, almost making Tekeli-li seem like his own demented ravings released almost a century after Lovecraft's times.
The Great Old Ones are a band all about atmosphere, and Al-Azif's foggy production heightened the sense of cosmic mystery and awe. While the murky production makes a return on Tekeli-li, the new record sees the band reveling more and more in the sheer atmosphere of their music, with eerie tremolos on 'Antarctica' setting the mood for the rest of the album before a ferocious blast beat comes in to annihilate, recalling Year of No Light's apocalyptic post-metal landscapes.
Tekeli-li is not a short album. Besides the brief intro, the shortest song clocks in at 7 and a half minutes, and the longest at nearly eighteen. Compared with Al-Azif, a far more shorter, roughly 45 minute affair, Tekeli-li thus takes a much grander, patient approach, boldly foraying into almost doom-like tempos before returning to the vanguard with a rallying blast beat, or yielding to a droning, tense break on 'the Ascent'.
The band bring back the spoken word on 'Awakening', and it fits excellently with the ominous atmosphere and sense of insanity that falls like an anvil immediately after Grimal's orations are finished. 'Awakening' itself represents the album's turning point, where The Great Old Ones go from territory Al-Azif blazed to something else completely new. Throughout Tekeli-li's last three songs the band pull so many incredible twists and turns that it's difficult to begin to imagine their creativity. Things go from soulful and awestruck to brutal and frenzied in the span of seconds, all the while maintaining the air of gnawing, spectacular horror that made Lovecraft's writing so unforgettable, and there's even a blast beat giving way to an acoustic break.
Translating stories into sound is not an easy feat - concept albums take a certain mode of thinking to execute successfully, but when done well they shine. With Tekeli-li, The Great Old Ones boldly strut into unexplored post-black territory - away from the influence and boundaries put in place by Weakling or Altar of Plagues, and continue to wander through the surreal crags that their music evokes so perfectly. You can purchase the album at the band's bandcamp here. Do yourself a favor and check these guys out - it's not something anyone sane would deny themselves.
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